


Stick 'em Up

by meyowch



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Dark Humor, F/M, Flirting, Gore, Kate riding the rodeo of BAD DECISIONS, Making Out, Meg the cool buddy, Mildly Dubious Consent, ace being ace, also sex, lame cowboy sex jokes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:00:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24103261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meyowch/pseuds/meyowch
Summary: Kate was a natural Good Samaritan - always willing to help those in need. So when she stumbles upon a dozing cowboy in dusty Glendale, the first thing she's going to do is get him to safety, of course!Needless to say, Caleb has a dark sense of humor.
Relationships: Kate Denson/Caleb Quinn | The Deathslinger
Comments: 20
Kudos: 57





	Stick 'em Up

It had been a while since she had been summoned to a trial.

If Kate could accurately count days anymore she'd estimate it had been just over a week.

It wasn't as if she wasn't grateful - it was nice having a reprieve from fighting for your life. But when the others were going in and out like clockwork you couldn't help but feel guilty. Why should one person get a break? 

No one held it against her. She was vigilant in standing at attention when they returned, offering them anything they needed; helping them out of their bloodied clothing or finding them a secluded but safe spot to rest and be alone. Just because she wasn't in the trial didn't mean she couldn't help out.

It was a pain being out of the loop, though.

Kate was waiting for a trial to end, med-kit clutched in her hands to help patch up any remaining wounds. It had been over 30 minutes since they'd left and usually there were all done by now…

A wave of darkness rippled through the air.

_Speak of the devil,_ she thought, jogging over to where Feng Min had collapsed onto the ground.

"You okay, Minny?" Kate said, helping her onto her back.

"Y-yeah, just wiped out." Feng still managed a smile at the pet name, "It's gonna be a while before the others come back - Killer got Dwight and Adam, and it wasn't looking good for Claudette when I left."

"I see." Kate busied herself with getting a discarded sweater under Feng's head, "At least you got out alright!"

"Almost didn't." She sighed, "Claudette took the hit for me - she's too nice…"

"What's this?" Kate pointed at what looked to be the remains of a gunshot wound on Feng's stomach.

Before Feng could answer an evil whispering filled the forest. Kate could feel herself being pulled in three directions at once.

"Trial time?" Feng could feel the air change as well, "Good luck!"

"Any words of wisdom for the rusty?"

"You're tougher than me. You'll be fine." Feng leaned up and winced, clutching her gut. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, "Shit I forgot, there's a new Ki-"

The buzzing of the Entity was filling Kate's head, deafening her. She could see Feng getting smaller and smaller, struggling to get up, yelling, yelling through cupped hands in an attempt to get her to hea--

\- - 

And then, as if she had only been daydreaming, she came back to herself in a place she had never seen before.

A desert town? She had been dropped as far back as the map would allow, so she was provided with a beautiful rustic view of their new location. 

_No time to gawk - time to work,_ she thought grimly, jogging towards a thankfully close generator.

\- -

She was a little out of sorts, she had to admit, but she was still able to fix-up a generator all by herself, which was no mean feat.

As she worked two other generators had blared awake. Kate was cautiously hopeful with the progress; things were looking good, but things could go south incredibly fast.

She made her way into the closest building, peered around and gasped - hand flying to her mouth.

A saloon! It was like one of her favourite Western flicks come to life. Her eyes darted from the stained bar and dusty bottles, across the rickety-looking floorboards towards a poker table where slumped forward -

Someone else!?

She could hardly believe it. Head down, with hair greyer than Ace's was an old man. In a dark duster, with one knotted hand pressing down on a wide-brimmed hat which covered his eyes. 

Kate felt a hysterical giggle bubble. A cowboy? A goddamn old cowboy? She missed her country home something fierce and by God she couldn't believe that a personification of her childhood fantasies had dropped right into her lap. 

_I'm gonna be fixin' gens with a cowboy...?_

She snuck closer, wanting to avoid giving him a shock. She remembered her first time, waking up in the forests of the Carnival, nearly leaping clean out of her skin when Dwight leapt out at her in excitement. Eyeing that grey mane Kate bit her lip - he looked like he could be older than Bill, would the poor darl's ticker stop if she spooked him? She had to be careful...

She stopped right at what she considered to be a respectful distance, "Excuse me, si -”

_BOOM._

A generator exploding staggered her, causing her to wobble and grab at the table. The vibration made her teeth ache. That sounded close! And if it was close -

"Hey, hey sweetie." Kate's voice was low and urgent as she grabbed at his arm, "We gotta go."

The man roused with a yawn, unbending from the tabletop. She stared as he leaned back in his chair, cracking his neck with a groan. How had that bang not rattled the man? God, he probably though she was some waitress back in the real world telling him it was closing time, poor thing... but a Killer wasn't gonna wait for someone to rack all their marbles back together.

"Honey!" She was louder now, eyeing the doorway, "I don't wanna scare you, but you're in danger. You gotta come with me, alright?"

He lifted his head to point curiously at where her hand was clutching at his bicep. She fought the urge to withdraw in embarrassment - she was saving this man's life! As the moment went a little too long, she ventured.

"Sir?"

Finally, he looked up into her face and Lord - those eyes, it was like -

"No one's called me 'Sir,' in a long time little lady." He chuckled, scratching at his whiskers, "I'm not what you'd call a civilised man. Now, what were you saying about 'danger?'"

His face was worn with age and his eyes had a peculiar glow, but in a hellscape like this she wasn't gonna ask too many questions.

"T-that's right!" It wasn't fair, she was the experienced Survivor here but she could feel herself flush as his eyes flitted over her, “It might sound crazy, but there's a Killer lurking about that's gonna -"

"A Killer, ya say?" 

"Yes!" She pressed, stricken, "and he's gonna get you if you don't get a move on!"

"Well, I'll be." An odd smile was playing around his crooked mouth, "And he's after you as well?"

"Yes! He's after a bunch of us and he's probably on his way right - "

He shot out of his chair so fast it toppled over. She was surprised by how tall he was. She had to crane her head back as he towered over her, disapproval drawing his brow tight. 

"Well that's not right. Some bastard threatnin' a well-mannered young lady like yourself?"

"I-I appreciate the sentiment." Really, she did. There was something about the twang in his voice that made her feel a little giddy, "And if you wanna help a young lady in need, you can follow me out of here to safety!"

Kate reached a hand out and grabbed his, feeling the calluses on his palms as she tugged him towards the side door. So she had a working man on her hands, a tough old gentleman that probably thought the Killer was some junkie in a hoodie that he could take on.

Outside she led him towards the back while trying to take everything in, making sure they had a decent chance at a head start if the Killer thought they were hiding inside the building. She eyed the cactuses and smiled as a tumbleweed bounced by. At least if she got murdered it would be in a nice, different setting this time.

She had no idea how she was gonna go about helping her new friend hide though. His height was a tad freakish, but she knew she wasn't gonna leave him behind no matter what.

_Clunk!_

That pallet throw sounded further than the explosion, but still to close for her liking.

"Here darl," She beckoned him down and he leaned over, "take this -" she pushed her medical kit at him.

"Oh I couldn't!" Still that odd smile - a touch condescending and it bugged her a little. Couldn't he just appreciate how worried she was?! Even if he thought she was a loon! "Trust me, Miss." He leaned closer still, rumbling, "I can handle myself just fine."

Great, another man's man. David and Bill would love this one. She did admit though, looking at his stature he might just be able to give a Killer a run for their money. Maybe she was too hasty to judge him as helpless, but who wasn't when it came to a trial?

"Okay." She drew a deep breath, "Lets try to stay out of harm's way for now - we'll make the rest up as we go along."

"Lead the way, missy."

"Which reminds me," Kate peeked around the corner of the building and pulled him along, “Introductions are in order. Name's Kate, pleased to make your acquaintance - not the loveliest place for a first meeting but it'll have to do!"

The cowboy guffawed, and her hands fluttered as she tried to shush him, "The name's Caleb. Caleb Quinn."

"Kate Denson."

"Pretty name." He was striding along in a disgustingly careless fashion, "And what do you do with your spare time, Kate?"

"Well, when I'm not being hounded by Killers," She felt the strong temptation to start striding alongside him, carefree of this awful place. But she stayed low as she could, "I like to sing. And you?"

"So you're a lil' songbird." He was gazing around the landscape, those pale eyes taking everything in. She wondered what he was looking for. How fast would he drop the cool act when he saw the Killer for the first time? "I like to tinker with machines. Always had a way with 'em. For instance, I can tell that one of these marvellous contraptions-" He nodded towards a silent generator, "Is about to go off right over… there."

He gestured to a lone building on the other side of the town, which suddenly lit up.

"Oh wow." She knew everyone had a little bit of something special, but that was something special, "You're an impressive man, Caleb!"

Caleb smirked and she could tell he enjoyed the ego boost as his shoulders straightened.

"Don't let it get to my head now," He purred, eyes heavy beneath his hat, "A man might just forget himself."

"Well, some women don't mind a forgetful man." She smiled, four gens done was making her feel a little more at ease.

"And would you be sharing that opinion?" He mused.

She hunched down next to their generator and began to pull at wires and turn dials, "I just might." 

It had been so long since had enjoyed a nice flirt - and the trial air was invigorating after being cooped up at the campfire for so long. The guys back a base were nice enough, sure, but there was something about this one. She chanced a look up and caught him staring unabashedly. He didn't even look embarrassed, damn him! When she raised a brow he offered a slow wink in return.

_BOOM._

She gasped, shielding her eyes as the gen exploded with a bright bang. Feeling her face redden, she hastily got back to work as Caleb barked with laughter.

"Am I putting you off, sweet thing?"

"Not at all, hun." She panted, wrangling the cables back into place, "I'm enjoying your company."

Caleb eyed her for a moment, before squatting down on the other side of the gen. She hesitated, about to warn him off - she'd seen her fair share of newbies burn themselves pretty badly. But he was swift and as he rummaged the gen was speeding to life faster than she had ever seen.

"Oh my." She stopped what she was doing to amble around and peer over his shoulder. His large hands worked relentlessly, and she felt a warm tingle as she watched him.

This would be the last gen and the others would be fixing another as a backup- she hadn't heard any screams, which boded well. Considering the circumstances maybe she had a little time to play...

She touched his shoulders and he stiffened in surprise. He glanced at her, but she fixed her gaze at his work - a picture of innocence. As his focus returned to the gen, she leaned further in and if her breasts happened to press a little too snugly against his back? 

_BOOM._

"Oh no!" She gasped in mock-dismay, "Are you alright?"

"Fine." He gritted, quickly picking up where he left off. 

"Really?" She slid an arm over his shoulder and tucked a grey lock behind his ear, "'Cause you seem a little distracted, sweetie."

She was practically draped over him and she could feel him twitching beneath her. It felt wonderful - if she wasn't careful she was gonna develop a bad habit of teasing grizzled old cowboys.

"You she-devil." He grunted as she trailed fingers down his jaw and played with his collar, "Acting like a sweet farm girl to make a man drop his guard."

"Hmmmm." There was something about having him rattled that made her hum, "How about we fix this up, then get some privacy so I can help you drop these…"

She tugged at his trousers.

The generator flared to life and he whirled on her, shoving her up against the wall and cupping her roughly between the legs with his hand.

"I warned you, you little bitch." His breath was heavy on her neck before he sunk his teeth in. She cried out in shock.

"C-Caleb wh -!"

"Quiet." He flexed his fingers and rubbed so sweetly she yowled like a pleased cat.

"Mmm mmm." God she should have a real problem with this. She wriggled in his grip, but his mass was a delicious pressure keeping her trapped.

"Good girl," He took advantage of a happy gasp by sliding his tongue into her mouth.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. It was good. It had been so long since she'd gotten off and this was - wow. She could barely think, her brain was melting somewhere between her pussy and her mouth as he worked her lips open with a hungry growl.

She clawed at his back and shoulders, her brain spinning as she felt firm planes of muscle beneath her hands.

Suddenly light flooded her senses and he was tearing away from her, blinking and shaking his head with a snarl.

"Kate, quick!"

She was being pulled away, Meg's powerful legs forcing her into a sprint towards the nearest exit gate.

"Wait, wait!" Kate tried to stop, but Meg kept forward.

"It's okay, everyone's gotten out!"

"No, but Caleb!" 

"Who's Caleb?!"

"He's back there, we gotta help get hi -"

Meg's eyes were trained ahead, legs still pumping, "Kate, I don't know what was happening back there but that guy - "

It was so fast, something hit Meg with the force of a gunshot - she was screaming, hand slipping from Kate's as she was dragged away.

She was being reeled in, Kate realised with dawning horror. And at the other end of the chain holding a cruel-looking gun, was Caleb.

"Interrupting a couple's private time?" He grunted, turning the winch and drawing Meg closer as she struggled, "Should've minded ya own business."

Kate couldn't look away, those pale eyes glowed as Caleb smashed the side of his weapon into Meg's face, sending her sprawling to the ground with a shriek.

What could she do? If she tried to help Meg she wouldn't get two steps forward…

Caleb raised a brow, reloading the chain back into his gun. "Cat got your tongue, darlin'?"

"Somethin' like that…" she replied numbly. As Caleb tinkered with his weapon she noticed Meg's eyes boring into hers, before frantically flicking to the ground near Kate's feet -

Meg's flashlight!

Abandoned in a choppy patch of grass, it laid to the left of Kate's boots. She could grab it and timed it right, she might just manage a getaway… but Meg! 

The indecision must have been clear on her face, because Meg cracked a smile with bleeding lips and shook her head.

_You can leave and I can't. No hard feelings._

"You try to take it easy for a change and people still gotta make things hard for you. Well now," Caleb hefted his gun to rest against his shoulder as he spun to face Kate, "Weren't we in the middle of so-"

The flashlight was in Kate's hand and blinding him in an instant, sending him staggering. She sped away, kicking up dust and praying. She heard him curse up a storm - looking back over her shoulder she spotted Meg clinging to his ankle, preventing him from coming after her.

Kate squeezed her eyes shut as she barrelled through the Gate and into the mist, Meg's screeches echoing in the air.

\- -

God.

She had made out with a Killer.

Kate sat glumly on the log, staring vacantly into the fire. 

She had made out with a Killer and let her friend die. And she let her friend die right after she had made out with a Killer.

She groaned, rubbing at her eyes, her forehead and pulling at her hair.

"Hey."

She looked up to see Meg walking over, smiling as she took a seat next to her. Kate's breath caught in her throat, choked up with all the apologies she wa –

"So you made out with a Killer."

Kate's voice died. Meg stared back with amusement.

"I mean," She continued, "I could have it totally wrong - maybe it was upright mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? He looked kinda old, so you were being the day-nurse and breathing some air back into his lungs?"

Kate let out a weak warble.

"Yeah that must have been it!" Meg snapped her fingers triumphantly, "You saved the man's life! No wonder he was acting so grateful, he wanted to pay you back! What's that saying… save a horse, ride a cowbo -"

Kate tackled her to the forest floor with a shout, Meg cackling with laughter. They wrestled and Kate couldn't stop giggling either.

"Now kiss!" Ace waved from the other side of the camp.

"Only if you lay one on Bill first!" Meg shouted, spitting leaves out.

"I'll do more than that without anyone asking."

"Like hell you will." Bill grunted from his resting place.

"Your loss." Ace winked at the veteran, who narrowed his eyes and pulled his beret over his face. The gambler ambled over to where the girls were dusting themselves off. His voice was low and playful, "Smooching a Killer, Kate? Useful distraction technique - remember that when poor Ace is getting tunnelled and needs a little help escaping!"

Kate's eyes widened. She looked to Meg who seemed equally flabbergasted, "How'd you - you were so far away, how'd you hear that?"

Ace tapped the side of his shades, "Professional gambler, remember? Lip-reading is essential when it comes to: 'are those big burly security guards all the way over there talking about throwing me into a dumpster for card-counting?'"

"Ah."

"Don't stress." Ace sat on the grass, leaning back on one hand, "You gotta Killer for a boyfriend - a boyfriend? A Girlfriend?"

"There is no boyfriend or girlfriend!!" Kate said.

"It's a guy." Meg interjected, "Appreciate the political correctness, though."

Ace grinned as Kate sent death waves in Meg's direction, "And who's the lucky fella? Trapper, Shape, Ghostface? Wraith always struck me as a sensitive lover." His eyes narrowed, "As long as it's not Legion, I hate that guy… guys. Them. Hate 'em."

Kate pursed her lips but Meg was determined to be a dirty traitor, "It's Deathslinger."

Ace's brows shot up behind his glasses, face working furiously to keep his obvious delight under control.

"Whatever it is, say it and get it over with!" Kate whined, resting her cheek on her hand.

"… yeehaw."

"Oh my god!" Kate kicked twigs and dirt at him, "you're as bad as Meg!"

"What'd she say?"

Meg punched into the air, "Save a horse, ride a cowboy!"

"Oh my god - classic!" Ace howled with laughter.

"You guys suck so much!" Kate shook her head, smiling.

"Not as much as you'll be!" Ace shot back.

Meg shouted "Ba dum, tss!" miming an invisible drum.

Kate slowly lowered herself to the ground and laid face-down in despair.

**Author's Note:**

> if you're wondering - yes, Caleb absolutely thought he still had a shot after impaling Meg, lol.


End file.
